Benoni taxi drivers up their road safety skills
Benoni taxi drivers celebrated a milestone when they graduated from a six-month road safety course aimed at boosting skills, safety and service in the industry.
Twenty-five taxi drivers from the Benoni Taxi Association (BTA) were recently awarded certificates of competence after completing a six-month Road Safety Skills Programme.
Their graduation was held at an elegant venue in Springs, a moment of pride for many drivers who, for the first time, wore graduation gowns alongside their peers from the Springs Long Distance Taxi Association and Springs and Brakpan taxi associations.
The programme aimed to empower taxi drivers with knowledge and practical tools to improve passenger safety and service delivery.
The Workplace Skills Institute provided the training funded by the Transport Education Training Authority (TETA).
TETA is a 21 Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) mandated to facilitate skills development and training in various economic sectors, including rail, aerospace, maritime, road freight, road passenger and the taxi industry.
According to Ndumiso Nzama, the assistant education, training and development practitioner in TETA’s taxi chamber, the successful programme saw about 48 taxi drivers complete the course and receive their results.
Based on the positive outcome, Nzama said they are eager to collaborate with them again in the future.
BTA training officer Pastor James Ndlovu said the course started last March.
“We attended classes at the BTA offices in Benoni every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00 to 13:00.
“Some topics covered included customer care, transportation, how to deal with and treat customers, vehicle inspections, information about the Professional Driving Permit, fire extinguishers, lessons on HIV/Aids and high blood pressure, and much more,” he explained.
Graduate Reginaldo Sitoe (52), who drives routes from Barcelona to Daveyton and Johannesburg and joined the industry in 2003 after losing his job, said he was happy that even in his later years, he was able to graduate.
“I am the second person in my family to wear a graduation gown. While growing up, I was unfortunate not to obtain a qualification through academic achievement, but I’m glad that through this industry, I was able to graduate, fulfilling my wish. We learnt a lot from this course, especially the business side of things,” said Sitoe.
The youngest graduate, Sanele Ludziya, said that at first, he thought the course wouldn’t be beneficial, but as time went on, he found it interesting and challenging.
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